Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Price Target Raised to $368.00

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) had its target price increased by Citigroup from $290.00 to $368.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the CRM provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CRM. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Salesforce from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Salesforce from $315.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Northland Securities raised Salesforce from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $270.00 to $400.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Salesforce from $234.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-eight have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Salesforce has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $341.89.

Salesforce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CRM opened at $330.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $299.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $315.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.29. Salesforce has a 1 year low of $212.00 and a 1 year high of $348.86.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The CRM provider reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Salesforce had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 15.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Salesforce will post 7.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 18th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 18th. Salesforce’s payout ratio is 27.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Miguel Milano sold 719 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.81, for a total value of $246,480.39. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,597,151.79. This trade represents a 13.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Sabastian Niles sold 2,484 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.81, for a total value of $608,108.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 828 shares in the company, valued at approximately $202,702.68. This represents a 75.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 144,510 shares of company stock valued at $42,475,538 over the last three months. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRM. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 0.5% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $1,860,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.7% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Umpqua Bank grew its position in Salesforce by 0.4% during the third quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 7,708 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,110,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nvwm LLC grew its position in Salesforce by 1.4% during the third quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 2,565 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 80.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.